REFERRAL PROCESS

Once your referral and any necessary investigations have been received from your General Practitioner they will be reviewed and prioritised at the weekly clinical meeting. Following this we will contact you to offer you an appointment or recommend a possible alternative approach.

Throughout your assessment at the clinic we would request that you are accompanied by a family member or friend to provide support and/or additional information.

We recommend that all patients attending the clinic maintain a close relationship with their referring General Practitioner as the doctors at the clinic will need to work in conjunction with your usual medical practitioner.

THE MEMORY CLINIC

Please ask your General Practitioner to assist you with additional requirements listed below when providing you with a referral to The Gosforth Clinic.

A referral from your General Practitioner addressed to Dr Philip Bird including a detailed history.

CT head scan. A computerized tomography (CT) scan combines a series of X-ray images taken from different angles and uses computer processing to create cross-sectional images, or slices, of the bones, blood vessels and soft tissues inside your body. Your GP will refer you to an appropriate imagery centre.

Mini Mental State Exam (MMSE). This is a 30-point questionnaire that is used to measure cognitive impairment. It is an effective way to document to estimate the severity and progression of cognitive impairment and to follow the course of cognitive changes in patient’s over time.

Blood tests including; FBC, E/LFT’s, TSH, B12, folate.

ADULT ADHD CLINIC

To be assessed at The Gosforth Clinic the following needs to be completed.

A referral from your General Practitioner addressed to Dr Philip Bird including a detailed history of your current symptoms and any past psychological issues.

To assist your General Practitioner in identifying the appropriate symptoms in adults the following WHO scale can be helpful. The ADHD criteria symptom checklist is located at the following link.

Echocardiogram (ECG). This is a measure of your heart rhythm. This is helpful as on occasions as some of medication used to treat ADHD can also affect your heart rate it is helpful to obtain a pre-treatment ECG.

Urine Drug Screen (UDS). It is our policy that all patients referred for an ADHD assessment provide a urine drug screen prior to being seen at the clinic.

The ADHD clinical assessment

Your first attendance at the clinic may be a pre-assessment with Monica Hassell, ADHD Coach. During the pre-assessment you will be asked questions about the reason for your referral and your current symptoms as well as a history of any difficulties you may have previously experienced both in your childhood and your adult life.

You will also complete a number of rating scales and questionnaires.

AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER (ASD) CLINIC

A referral from your General Practitioner addressed to Dr Philip Bird including a detailed history of your current symptoms and any past psychological issues.

Your first attendance at the clinic may be a pre-assessment.

If you have previously been diagnosed with either ASD or similar conditions and have relevant information from other healthcare providers please forward this information to the Clinic.

EATING DISORDERS CLINIC

To be assessed at The Gosforth Clinic the following needs to be completed.

A referral from your General Practitioner addressed to Dr Philip Bird including a detailed history of your current symptoms and any past psychological issues.